Problem: Antares Auto-Tune 4 w/ iLok

Update: While the customer service was helpful and all was restored, remember that if you need to get in touch with Antares, email is your only option.

In other news, if Pro Tools is hanging on launch during the plugin loading stage, make sure that you don’t have IE8 installed. Downgrade to IE7 to resolve the problem. This is kind of an important nugget that wasn’t stated anywhere.

Original Post:

I generally don’t get very steamed about much, but this one REEEALLY burns me up. Background information:
Antares, makes plugins for audio production.
Auto-Tune, plugin made by said company for audio production.
iLok, awful authentication system in the form of a hardware ‘dongle’.

And we’re back in … I purchased Antares Auto-Tune 4 circa 2004. I went through their hoops to register online and everything was great until I reformatted my DAW (digital audio workstation) and went to reinstall my plugins. Antares says to me “Oh, if you want to continue using our software, you need to purchase an iLok for $50.” Argument erupted and they allowed me to reauthorize under the old method “just one more time”. Should the same thing happen again, I’d need to get an iLok. Noted.

So six years later, I purchase an iLok … generation 2 and still for $50. I try to load the necessary data from Antares. I key my registration information in and it tells me that the registration code does not match. I try over and over again … no luck. I guess this is why they conveniently leave their phone number off the web site.

So the company (Antares) is kind enough to have a section on their web site if your information doesn’t work. They will “look up the information” for you and “try” to recover it. Of course, they don’t tell you that it’ll take a day or two until after you’ve given them all of your information … including extra residences which you “may” have used to register the product in the past.

I wish I hadn’t invested so much of my money in this … otherwise, I’d say Antares — YOU’RE FIRED!!! Never again though — let this be a lesson to you.

Until next time …
-D